This article appeared on page B1 of the Friday, June 11, Las
Vegas Review-Journal. I have copied it without permission.
Typographical errors are mine.
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Committee votes 9-5 to repeal [Nevada's] sodomy law
By Ed Vogel
Donrey Capital Bureau
Carson City--The Assembly Judiciary Committee heard three hours
of conflicting testimony Thursday and then voted 9-5 to repeal
the law that prohibits certain sex acts by homosexuals.
With the favorable vote, Senate Bill 466 now goes to the entire
Assembly for a vote, probably on Monday.
Assembly Speaker Joe Dini, D-Yerington, expects the bill will
receive Assembly approval and go to Gov. Bob Miller for his
signature. The Senate approved the bill 14-6 two weeks ago.
"If it stays in the fashion it is now, I have already indicated I
will sign it," said Miller, who visited Thursday with lawmakers
in the Legislative Building.
Judiciary Committee members rejected an amendment to the bill
containing five changes requested by Assemblyman Scot Scherer,
R-Las Vegas. Among the changes were a ban on homosexual brothels
and a requirement that schools secure permission of parents
before students attend any classes in which homosexuality is
discussed.
Committee Chairman Bob Sader, D-Reno, asked the committee to
defeat the amendment because he fears the Senate would kill the
entire bill if any amendments were attached.
The bill repeals the state's 82-year-old law that makes it a
felony, punishable by one year to six years in prison, for people
of the same sex to engage in "infamous crimes against nature,"
defined in the law as fellatio, cunnilingus or anal intercourse.
Until 1977, engaging in these acts, even between married couples,
was punishable as a felony.
If the bill passes, all sexual acts in private between consenting
adults would be legal. It would remain a felony, however, for
homosexuals or heterosexuals to engage in sodomy in public.
During the hearing, lawyers Kevin Kelly of Las Vegas and Myra
Sheehan of Reno argued that the issue is privacy rights, not
whether homosexuality is right or wrong.
"The state should not regulate acts between consenting adults of
the same sex any more than it should regulate acts between
consenting adults of the opposite sex," Sheehan said.
Dr. Jerry Cade, director of the HIV Services Center at University
Medical Center, said the current law against sodomy deters people
from coming in for AIDS testing and treatment. They fear they
may suffer legal consequences if they admit engaging in illegal
sexual activity, he said.
Speaking against the bill, Las Vegas lawyer Joel Hansen said a
1986 U.S. Supreme Court decision found homosexual activity was
not protected by the Constitution.
"I speak for lawyers who believe decency, not decadence, should
be the purpose of the law," he added. "There is no
constitutional right to be a sodomite."
He said 23 states have have laws making homosexual sex acts
illegal.
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Chris L. Cobb -- clc@nevada.edu -- B0 f t+ w c+ g k+ s+ r p